Toby Wright – Derby

A convicted sex offender who sent a sexually explicit message to an eight-year-old girl online has been jailed.

Toby Wright added the youngster on Snapchat before sending her a message saying ‘you’re cute’. She immediately responded asking him to leave her alone and stating her age. He then responded saying he liked ‘little girls’.

The girl told her parents and gave them her phone but Wright continued sending videos including one showing him performing a sex act.

Wright had previously been sentenced for meeting a child following grooming. The messages with the eight-year-old came to light while he was serving a prison sentence for that offence after the girl’s parents called police, and he was interviewed in prison.

The 27-year-old, of Belgrave Street, Derby, was subsequently charged with engaging in sexual communication with a child; causing a child under 13 to watch/look at an image of sexual activity; possessing an indecent photograph/pseudo-photograph of a child and distributing an indecent photograph/pseudo-photograph of a child.

He admitted the offences and appeared at Derby Crown Court for sentence on 13 October when he was jailed for five years and four months, with an extended licence period of four years and eight months.

He was also given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for ten years and a restraining order preventing him from having any contact with the victim. A destruction order for his phone was also imposed.

Detective Constable Heather Rogers, who led the investigation, said: “Wright is clearly a very dangerous individual whose persistent behaviour in seeking sexual gratification from children is utterly appalling.

“The fact he committed this offence despite having served a prison sentence for a previous offence involving children shows he has clearly not seen the error of his ways.

“We know that Wright also uses the name Luke as well as other aliases and we suspect that he may have spoken to more children online so we would encourage anyone who thinks they or their children have been contacted by him, to come forward and speak to us.”

To report or seek help about online sexual abuse, you can contact us in any of the following ways:

Website – We have crime reporting tools on our website: use our online contact form
Facebook – send us a private message to the Derbyshire Constabulary Facebook page
Phone – call us on 101
You can also anonymously contact the independent charity CrimeStoppers, on 0800 555 111, or by visiting the CrimeStoppers website.

You can also anonymously contact the independent charity CrimeStoppers, on 0800 555 111, or by visiting the CrimeStoppers website.

There are also a number of other organisations who may be able to help with advice or alternative ways in which you can report. They are:

Child Exploitation Online Protection command (CEOP) – http://ceop.police.uk/
Internet Watch Foundation – https://www.iwf.org.uk/
NSPCC Helplines: Anyone concerned about a child can contact the NSPCC Helpline for advice on 0808 8005000
Get Safe Onlineprovide advice on staying safe online.
Thinkuknow: An education programme keeping children and young people safe by teaching about sexual abuse and sexual exploitation.